Canadian inventions and discoveries are objects, processes, or techniques—invented, innovated, or discovered—that owe their existence either partially or entirely to a person born in Canada, a citizen of Canada, or a company or organization based in Canada. Some of these inventions were funded byNational Research Council Canada (NRCC), which has been an important factor in innovation and technological advancement. Often, things discovered for the first time are also called inventions and in many cases, there is no clear line between the two.

The following is a list of inventions, innovations or discoveries known or generally recognized to be Canadian.

Notable Canadian inventions and improvements to existing technologies include:

• 
  A plain butter tart, cut to show the insides
• 
  Nanaimo bar
• 
  Hawaiian pizza

• Ambrosia apple – first cultivated inBritish Columbia during the early 1990s.
• B.C. roll – a type ofsushi invented inVancouver in 1974 by chefHidekazu Tojo.^[1]
• Beaver tails andtouton –fried dough pastry that is sold in a variety of flavours.
• Butter tart – a filling of butter, sugar, syrup, and egg, baked in a pastry shell.
• Caesar (cocktail) – invented by Walter Chell inCalgary in 1969.^[2]
• California roll – a sushi roll with the seaweed wrapped on the inside of the rice, said to be created by theJapanese-Canadian chef living inVancouver,Hidekazu Tojo, in 1974, although there are competing claims.
• Canada Dry Ginger Ale – a dryginger ale invented byJohn J. McLaughlin in 1904 under the name of "Pale Ginger Ale", before it was patented in 1907 under "Canada Dry Ginger Ale".^[3]
• Canola Oil – developed from naturalrapeseed (a plant from the turnip family) byNational Research Council Canada (NRCC) personnel in the 1970s, containing a low-erucic acid content.^[4]
• Cheezies – a brand ofcheese puff snack food made and sold in Canada by W. T. Hawkins Ltd.
• Cipaille – aQuebec adaptation ofsea-pie without seafood.
• Coffee Crisp – a chocolate bar invented by British companyRowntree inCanada.^[5]
• Crispy Crunch – created by Harold Oswin in 1930.
• Donair – a regional variation of the doner kebab, using beef instead of lamb. Invented inHalifax, Nova Scotia around 1970 by Peter Gamoulakos.^[6]
• Fricot – a traditional stew consisting of clams, chicken and other meats.
• Garlic fingers – anAtlantic Canadian dish, similar to apizza in shape and size and made with the same type ofdough.
• Ginger beef – is aCanadian Chinese dish made frombeef,ginger, and a distinctive sweetsauce.
• Hawaiian pizza – invented by theGreek-Canadian cook and businessmanSam Panopoulos, in 1962.
• Instant mashed potatoes (dehydrated potato flakes) – invented byEdward Asselbergs in 1962.^[7]
• Jubilee apple – developed byPacific Agri-Food Research Centre in British Columbia.
• London Fog – a hot tea-based drink that consists of Earl Grey tea, steamed milk, and vanilla syrup.^[8]
• Maple taffy – a sugar candy made by boiling maple sap.
• Marquis wheat – invented byCharles E. Saunders in 1908 and tested at theAgassiz experimental farm inBritish Columbia. (c. 1900), developed fromRed Fife wheat.^[7]
• McIntosh apple – developed byJohn McIntosh inUpper Canada in 1811
• Montreal melon – originally cultivated in theMontreal area but lost due toindustrialization. The melon's seeds have recently been rediscovered and its cultivation revitalized.^[9][10]
• Nanaimo bar – adessert bar that requires no baking, invented in Nanaimo around 1953.
• Pablum – infant cereal, invented byFrederick Tisdall,Theodore Drake, and Allan Brown in 1930.^[11]
• Peanut butter – Canadian chemistMarcellus Gilmore Edson patented a way to make "peanut paste", also known as peanut butter in 1884.^[12]
• Pizza Pops – acalzone-type snack produced byPillsbury.
• Poutine – created in theCentre-du-Québec region in the 1950s.^[11][13]
• Ragoût de boulettes (Meatball Stew) – traditionalCanadian comfort food fromQuebec.^[14]
• Ragoût de Pattes de Cochon (StewedPig's Feet) –French-Canadian stew with leg or feet, originating inQuebec.^[15]
• Red Fife wheat – a Canadianlandrace descendant of Western Ukrainian (Galicia) wheat, first grown byDavid Fife inUpper Canada in 1842.
• Spartan apple – an apple similar to theMcIntosh introduced toSummerland, British Columbia in 1936, developed by R. C. Palmer.
• Tourtière – a French Canadian meat pie common during holidays, invented in the early 1600's, with the first recipe in 1840.^[16]
• Yukon Gold potato – invented by Gary Johnston in 1966.^[17]

• Archie (search engine) – the firstinternet search engine, invented byAlan Emtage atMcGill University around 1988.^[18]
• Film colorization – invented byWilson Markle in 1983.^[7]
• IMAX movie system – co-invented byGraeme Ferguson,Roman Kroitor, and Robert Kerr in 1968, following the creation of what is now theIMAX Corporation.^[19][20][11]
• Java programming language – invented byJames Gosling in 1994.^[7]
• Key frame animation – co-invented by Nestor Burtnyk and Marcelli Wein at the NRC in the 1970s.^[21]
• Multi-dynamic image technique – invented byChristopher Chapman in 1967.
• Trackball – first built for theDATAR computer (although the concept was first mentioned in a similar project in theUnited Kingdom).^[22]

• 56k modem – invented by Dr. Brent Townshend in 1996^[11]
• 735 kV power line – the international standard for long-distance electricity transmission, invented byJean-Jacques Archambault in Quebec, where the world's first 735,000-volt line was commissioned in 1965^[11]
• AM broadcasting – invented byReginald Fessenden in 1906^[23]
• Amplitude modulation – invented byReginald Fessenden in 1906
• BlackBerry device – its development was led byMike Lazaridis, who foundedBlackBerry Limited
• Cesium Beamatomic clock – developed by National Research Council personnel in the 1960s
• Computerizedbraille – invented by Roland Galarneau in 1972^[24][7]
• Creedteleprinter system – invented byFrederick G. Creed in 1900
• Fathometer – an early form ofsonar invented by Reginald Fessenden in 1919^[7]
• Gramophone – co-invented byAlexander Graham Bell in 1889

• Hot-wire barretter – invented byReginald Fessenden in 1902
• Newsprint andpulped-wood paper – invented byCharles Fenerty in 1838^[7]
• Pager – invented byIrving "Al" Gross in 1949^[7][18]
• Quartz clock – built byWarren Marrison in 1927
• Radiotelephony – first demonstrated byReginald Fessenden in 1901^[25]
• Standard time – introduced by Scottish-CanadianSandford Fleming in 1878
• Telephone – invented byAlexander Graham Bell in 1876
• Telephonehandset – invented byCyrille Duquet in 1878
• Undersea telegraph cable – invented by British-CanadianFrederic Newton Gisborne in 1857
• Walkie-talkie – invented byDonald Hings andIrving "Al" Gross in 1942 for military use

• Rotary snowplow – invented by Canadian dentist J.W. Elliot in 1869, and perfected by Orange Jull ofOrangeville, Ontario
• Snow blower – invented by Arthur Sicard (1927)
• Steam-poweredfoghorn – invented byRobert Foulis (1859)^[26]

• ASDIC – invented byRobert William Boyle in 1916
• Canadian pipe mine – a land mine used in Britain in World War II
• Beartrap (hauldown device) – invented for theRoyal Canadian Navy in the early 1960s to assist helicopter landings onboard ships
• CADPAT – the firstdigital camouflage system, which was then used for the United StatesMARPAT (1996)
• G-suit (or anti-gravity suit) – a suit for high-altitude jet pilots invented byWilbur R. Franks in 1941^[26]
• Defendo – a Canadianmartial art
• Gunstock war club – an indigenous weapon used by manyFirst Nations in Canada
• Gas mask – the first widely used military gas mask was introduced byCluny Macpherson in 1915
• Sonar – invented byReginald Fessenden
• Stealth snowmobile – in 2011 theCanadian Armed Forces announced the development by Canadian-based company CrossChasm Technologies^[27][28]
• Tomahawk – traditional Canadian war instrument created by theAlgonquian peoples

• Alkaline battery – invented byLewis Urry in 1954
• Amauti – anInuit woman'sparka from Canada's eastern Arctic used to carry (pack) children^[29]
• Bi-pin connector – invented byReginald Fessenden in 1893
• Bottle return programs[1]— programs where alcoholic bottles are returned from consumers in exchange for money
• Capote – worn by the inhabitants of New France to protect from the harsh winters
• Ceinture fléchée – one of many pieces of Canadian clothing listed

• The first colouredcoins used in circulation
• Easy-Off – anoven cleaner invented by Herbert McCool in Regina in 1932
• Egg carton – invented by Joseph Coyle ofSmithers, British Columbia, in 1911
• Electric cooking range – invented byThomas Ahearn in 1882
• Garbage bag – invented byHarry Wasylyk in 1950^[18]
• Green ink – invented by AmericanThomas Sterry Hunt in 1862 while teaching atUniversité Laval; used for variousU.S. banknotes
• Igloos – a type of shelter from the Arctic
• Incandescent light bulb – invented in 1874 byHenry Woodward, who sold the patent toThomas Edison
• Jolly Jumper – ababy jumper invented byOlivia Poole in 1959
• Kerosene – discovered in the 1840s by Abraham Gesner^[30]
• Lawn sprinkler – invented byElijah McCoy^[7]
• LongPen – invented byMargaret Atwood^[31]
• Parka – invented by theInuit in the Arctic to protect the wearer from the cold^[32]
• Plexiglas – made practical by William Chalmers' invention for creatingmethyl methacrylate, while a graduate student at McGill University in 1931
• Snow goggles – used byInuit to preventsnow blindness in theArctic due to the glare from snow and ice and were made typically from ivory, bone or other materials^[33]
• Snowshoes – perfected byFirst Nations to traverse through deep snow more effectively^[34]
• Wonderbra Model 1300 (aka Dream Lift) – the modern plunged-stylepush-up bra, designed by Louise Poirier in 1964. Though the termWonder-Bra was coined by an American named Israel Pilot in 1935, the brand itself was popularized by CanadianMoses Nadler, who licensed (and later won) the Wonderbra patent from Pilot. Nadler made his first Wonderbra in 1939 at his Montreal-based Canadian Lady Corset Company, and directed Poirier, his employee, to design the Model 1300 bra^[18]

• A process for producingcalcium carbide foracetylene was invented byThomas Willson in 1892^[7]
• Artificial cardiac pacemaker – invented byJohn Alexander Hopps in 1950/1951^[35]
• A process to extractbromine was invented byHerbert Henry Dow in 1890^[7]
• CPR mannequin – invented by Dianne Croteau in 1989^[26][36][37]
• Ebola vaccine – discovered by researchers at the federalPublic Health Agency of Canada in 2014^[38]
• The first practicalelectron microscope was built byJames Hillier and Arthur Prebus in 1939
• Explosives vapour detector EVD-1 – invented by Dr.Lorne Elias in 1985^[39][40]
• Finite element method, a method for numerically solving differential equations, invented byAlexander Hrennikoff
• Forensic pathology in policing – introduced by Dr.Frances Gertrude McGill (1877–1959)^[26]
• Insulin – the process for extracting medicinal insulin was invented byFrederick Banting,Charles Best, andJames Collip (1922)
• Medium 199 – the world's first purely syntheticnutrient medium for growing cells, discovered in 1945 by Dr. Raymond Parker ofConnaught Laboratories at theUniversity of Toronto. Dr. Parker's achievement had a key role in the discovery of thepolio vaccine^[11]
• Montreal procedure – a treatment for severeepilepsy invented byWilder Penfield at theMontreal Neurological Institute and Hospital in 1930, allowing patients to remain awake and describe their reactions while the surgeon stimulates different areas of the brain^[11]
• NeisVac‑C – aconjugate vaccine developed in 1982 by Harold Jennings and his Ottawa-based team for immunizing against Group Cmeningococcal meningitis^[41][26]
• Oil Red O – aforensic technique discovered byAlexandre Beaudoin in 2004
• Palm n’ Turn –child-proof container technology developed by Dr.Henri Breault in 1967^[11]
• Radon – the fifth radioactive element to be discovered, in 1899 byErnest Rutherford andRobert B. Owens atMcGill University inMontreal^[42]
• Synthetic sucrose – invented by Dr.Raymond Lemieux in 1953^[7]
• Ultraviolet index byEnvironment Canada scientists James B. Kerr, C. Thomas McElroy, and David I. Wardle
• UV-degradable plastic – by Dr. James Guillet in 1971^[43]
• Weevac 6 – a stretcher for babies invented by Wendy Murphy in 1985

• Abdominizer – anabdominal exerciser invented by Dennis Colonello in 1984^[7]
• Basketball – invented byJames Naismith in 1891
• Birchbark biting – an Indigenous artform made byAnishinaabe
• Baseball – one of the first ever recorded baseball type game in Canada was played inBeachville,Upper Canada on 4 June 1838^[44]
• Contrabass bugle – first produced by theWhaley Royce Company, it is the lowest-pitched brass instrument in the drum and bugle corps and marching band hornline^[45]
• Crokinole – a disk-flicking dexterity board game possibly invented by Eckhardt Wettlaufer who produced the first board in 1875^[46]
• DigiSync – abarcode reader used in motion picture production that was invented byMike Lazaridis; it won anEmmy in 1994 andAcademy Award for Technical Achievement in 1998^[47][48]
• Electronic sackbut – invented byHugh Le Caine in 1945 as a precursor tovoltage-controlled synthesizers
• Five-pin bowling – invented byThomas F. Ryan in Toronto in 1909
• Goalie mask – invented byJacques Plante in 1959
• Ice hockey – invented in 19th century Canada
• Instant replay – invented for CBC'sHockey Night in Canada in 1955
• Inuit art – art created byInuit
• Jockstrap hard cup – added to the existing jockstrap undergarment by Guelph Elastic Hosiery in 1927^[49]
• Lacrosse – codified byWilliam George Beers around 1860
• Northwest Coast art – art originally created byIndigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada
• Pitchnut – flicking game from Canada
• Ringette – invented bySam Jacks andMirl "Red" McCarthy in 1963
• Robb Wave Organ – world's firstelectric organ, invented and patented byMorse Robb in 1928^[7]
• Superman – co-created by Canadian cartoonistJoe Shuster in 1932
• Snocross – a racing sport involving racing specialized high performance snowmobiles^[50]
• Six String Nation – public art and history project conceived byJowi Taylor and centred around asteel-string acoustic guitar built from a variety of artifacts collected by Taylor representing diverse cultures, communities, characters and events from every province and territory of Canada
• Table hockey game – invented by Donald Munro (1930s)
• Trivial Pursuit – invented byChris Haney andScott Abbott in 1979
• Tautirut – a bowed zither native to theInuit culture in theCanadian north^[51]
• Television camera – F.C.P. Henroteau in 1934
• Qilaut – a type offrame drum that originates from the Arctic and the Inuit^[52]

• Automatic Lubricating Cup –Elijah McCoy invented anautomatic lubricator for oiling the steam engines of locomotives and ships in 1872
• Caulking gun – invented by Theodore Witte in 1894^[23]
• Collerette ladder forfirefighting – invented by Montreal firefighter Rodrigue Colleret and demonstrated in London in 1896^[53]
• Kakivak – aleister used by Inuit for spear fishing and fishing at short range
• A process for distillingkerosene was invented byAbraham Pineo Gesner and made the fuel popular^[7]
• Paint roller – invented by Norman James Breakey of Toronto in 1940^[7][18]
• Robertson screw – invented byPeter L. Robertson in 1908
• Rotary vane pump – invented by Charles Barnes and patented in 1874
• Toggling harpoon – an Inuit tool used byInuit whilewhale or seal hunting to impale the animal when thrown
• Ulu – an all-purpose knife traditionally used byInuit women

• Air-conditionedrailway coach – invented byHenry Ruttan in 1858^[26]
• BIXI Montréal – a publicbicycle-sharing system launched in Montreal in 2009
• Brunton compass – patented by David W. Brunton in 1894
• Canadarm – developed by staff of theSpar Aerospace (1981)^[54]
• Crash position indicator – invented by personnel of theNational Research Council Canada in the 1950s
• Compound steam engine for marine use – invented by Benjamin Franklin Tibbetts in 1842
• Canadian – thebirch barkcanoe was developed byFirst Nations in Canada^[55]
• Electric car heater – invented byThomas Ahearn in 1890^[7]
• Electric wheelchair – invented byGeorge Klein in 1952 forWorld War II veterans^[7]
• Electrically controlledvariable-pitch propeller – invented byWallace Rupert Turnbull and tested atCFB Borden (1927)^[7]
• Hydrofoil boat – invented byAlexander Graham Bell andCasey Baldwin in 1908^[7]
• JACO – a robotic arm forwheelchairs invented by Charles Deguire and Louis-Joseph Caron L'Écuyer from the Canadian technology companyKinova^[56][57]
• The first commercial jetliner to fly in North America – designed byJames C. Floyd, the termjetliner being derived from hisAvro Canada C102 Jetliner (1949)^[26]
• Nodwell 110, a multi-purpose two-tracked vehicle – invented byBruce Nodwell
• Parclo (partial cloverleaf) interchange – developed by planners at theMinistry of Transportation of Ontario (c. 20th century)
• Road lines – invented by John D. Millar, an engineer for theOntario Department of Transport. The world's first road lines were subsequently painted on a stretch of highway betweenOntario andQuebec in 1930^[18]
• Screw-propeller – invented by John Patch in 1833^[7]
• Separable baggage check – invented by John Michael Lyons in 1882
• Snowmobile – invented byJoseph-Armand Bombardier (1937)^[7]
• TM4 MФTIVE – a lightweight magnet electricmotor invented byPierre Couture [fr] in 1982
• Uno dicycle – invented byBen Gulak while still a teenager in 2006
• Wheelchair-accessible bus – invented byWalter Harris Callow in 1947^[58][59]
• Variable-pitch aircraft propeller –Wallace Rupert Turnbull of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada is credited in Canada for creating the first variable pitch propeller in 1918^[60]
• ZENN – a two-seatbattery electric vehicle that was produced by theZENN Motor Company of Canada from 2006 to 2010

• Canadian Eskimo Dog – is a working breed of dog native to theArctic
• Canadienne cattle – the only breed ofdairy cattle developed in Canada
• Cymric cat – The Cymric is a muscular, compact, medium-to-large cat that weighs between 3.2 to 5.9 kg (7 to 13 lb), and Canada claims to have developed the long-haired variant
• Canadian Arcott – a breed of domestic sheep native to Canada
• Newfoundland dog – an unnamed Newfoundland is famous for savingNapoleon Bonaparte from drowning
• Canadian horse – a breed of horse that is powerful, well-muscled, and typically dark in colour
• Chantecler chicken – a breed of chicken originating atAbbey of Notre-Dame du Lac,Oka,Quebec
• Hare Indian Dog – an extinct domesticated canine; possibly a breed of domestic dog,coydog, or domesticatedcoyote; formerly found and originally bred in northern Canada by theSahtu (Hare Indians) forcoursing

• Lac La Croix Indian Pony – also known as the Ojibwe pony (bebezhigooganzhii,mishdatim) is a semi-feral Canadian horse breed developed by theOjibwe
• Landseer dog – canine breed, the Landseer was developed in Canada and in continental Europe, a black and white variant of the Newfoundland is acknowledged as a distinct breed
• Lacombe pig – breed of swine fromAlberta
• Labrador Retriever – breed of dog developed in the United Kingdom fromSt. John's water dogs imported from thecolony of Newfoundland^[61]
• Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever – a hunting-focused medium-sizedgundog breed
• Newfoundland sheep – a breed of sheep native toNewfoundland
• Red Shaver – a sex-related breed of chicken called the Red Shaver was created in Canada
• Speckle Park – a modern Canadian breed of beef cattle
• Sphynx cat – cats of the Canadian Sphynx breed are distinguished by their lack of fur
• St. John's water dog – an extinctlandrace of domestic dog from Newfoundland
• Tahltan Bear Dog – a breed of dog that came to Canada in early migrations and acclimatised to the environment
• Tonkinese cat – Tonkinese cats are intelligent, loud, lively, and typically people-oriented

• Canada Day – celebrated nationwide 1 July annually, marks Canada's 1867 Confederation and establishment of dominion status,
• Civic Holiday – is apublic holiday in Canada celebrated on the first Monday in August^[62]
• Family Day – In mostprovinces of Canada, the third Monday in February is observed as aregional statutory holiday
• National Day for Truth and Reconciliation – is a Canadian holiday to recognize the legacy of theCanadian Indian residential school system
• Nunavut Day – 9 July, originated as a paid holiday forNunavut Tunngavik Incorporated and regionalInuit associations. It became a half-day holiday for government employees in 1999 and a full day in 2001. Most employers give the day off with the notable exceptions being the federal government andthe North West Company
• Ramp Ceremonies – a popular military tradition that started in the 2000s when bringing the nations fallen soldiers home
• Thanksgiving – First celebrated in 1578 in what is nowNunavut^[63][64]
• Victoria Day – is a federalCanadian public holiday celebrated on the last Monday preceding May 25 to honourQueen Victoria

• Category:Canadian inventors
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